Today's interview is with Steve, a veteran realtor from Florida.
We go over:
- How he listed 25 homes with books.
- His million dollar listing.
- How the books make him instantly respected and credible.
- He gets referral listings from them too.
Highlights:
Full Interview:
Transcript:
| Steve:
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I started selling homes in about 1990. |
| Smart Agents:
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How long have you been a member with Smart Agents? |
| Steve:
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Oh, wow. Let's see, I think almost six years. I go back to the first programs with the expired plus and the listing, the old listing lead programs, the old postcard programs, so I've been around for a long time in the programs. |
| Smart Agents:
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More recent times with our new book leads programs just over the last couple years, how many listings have you gotten? Excuse me, how many listing have you gotten using the books as an aid, or using the books in any way that were involved with the listing? |
| Steve: | You know, I'm in a small resort market, but I know for sure;
I've handed that book to people that have like "Oh, you wrote a book."Then I've sat down and proceeded to sign a listing agreement with people, and it's I would say twenty-five listings that are I could look back at the fact that I gave them the book.I got an appointment next Monday with a lady that I dropped a book and the package off, right when the books came out, and she called me a couple months later, and she's like, "I just got to tell you," she said, "I read your book cover to cover."I'm like, oh my gosh, because the books were brand new at that time. I hadn't even read the whole thing, and she said, "We're not ready to sell, but I'd love to meet you." I went to meet her and she had the book laying there. She says, "I'm just very impressed that you took the initiative to put this book out," and so a year's passed, and she just called and said that they're coming in on the thirteenth and they want to list the house with me. That one I ... That's all based, that's from the book. I mean, that book got me that listing, made the difference. |
| Smart Agents:
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What do you mostly like to target with the books, and what copies of the books do you give out? |
| Steve: | I hand out ... The one I'm using the most is Secrets ----of Wealthy Home Sellers. I hand that out a lot. It's generic, and that usually follows up with the postcard, every door direct mail postcards that are from the old systems.
I send those out, the people respond for home valuation, and then I follow up by dropping the book off with their CMA, and, I said, I get calls. |
| Smart Agents:
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What do you think ... Put into words what the books do for you when you give it to the client, sort of. |
| Steve:
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They add instant credibility to me. I'm credible. I know I'm credible. I've been a realtor for years, but a lot of these sellers in our market are not, they're not full-time residents, they're vacationers, and when I show up with my presentation but I have this book, they take me more seriously. I'm not a fly-by-night agent. I'm a serious agent, because I've written ... Well, I've published a book, so they feel that I'm seriously in the business. |
| Smart Agents:
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Do you have any interesting stories that you think it would be worthwhile explaining exactly how it went down with the book, getting the listing? |
| Steve: |
Oh, I went on a listing appointment one time, and I showed up and I had the book, and the people, they open it up and there's the book, and the lady, she said, "Oh," she said, "we already have a copy of that.Our friends gave it to us when we were selling. That's why we called you," so you know, you got someone passing the book."They find a friend that's going to sell, and they say "Oh, here, this is the book Steve put out," and those people called me, so that listing I'm pretty sure came from the book. |
| Smart Agents:
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Have you started getting any of the smaller niches with the books? |
| Steve:
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No, I haven't. I should. I should be going after the expireds with it, but in our little market here in the Florida Keys there's very few expireds, very few listings go expired, and the ones that go expired, there's usually a very good reason why, so I haven't used that one as much, but that's okay. The other one works just fine. |
| Smart Agents:
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All right. Do you have anything else that you would want to add? |
| Steve:
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You know, I've been with the Curry programs from very early on, and I just loved the innovation that the technology innovation that keeps rolling out, and even now it's, you know, Nate and the people up there, they're, I talk about some of the old systems, and they're like, "Well, that was the old system," but for me, those systems still work very well.
The phone number with the extension, the senior citizens in my market, they dial the number. They don't go online for their CMA or their free book or whatever. They dial the phone number and leave me a voicemail that they're interested in a home valuation or they're interested in receiving a book, so the whole system wraps around what I'm doing in the business, and I'm very happy with it. |
One of the best methods we use at Smart Agents to separate yourself is books. Books have a huge perceived value. They don’t get thrown away.
They can get tucked away somewhere, but most people aren’t going to toss them in the trash. They’re worth something, and they’re worth something to the author’s name.
Do this and you will position yourself as the authority in your market. When you give away your book, it will separate you from your competition. That’s how a smart agent thinks!
Want to get a free sample of the book that will get you more listings? Click the link below.
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of owning property, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here!
